That which matters
by 1991Kira
Summary: Commander Shepard's decision to interfere with Garrus' revenge has unintended consequences. Will they able to salvage their friendship or will Shepard have to fight the Collectors without Vakarian? ME2
1. That which is broken

"_Let it go, Garrus. Listen to him. He's already paying for his crimes."_

Trembling in rage, Garrus Vakarian watched as Commander Shepard, his best friend and CO, moved aside to reveal the face of the man responsible for the death of his entire team at Omega.

His finger hesitated on the trigger. . .

He had dreamed of this moment for months. Ever since Shepard had saved his life at Omega, he had spent every waking moment planning the death of the traitor, had spent every single night dreaming of the corpses of his people.

_His _people. They deserved better than this. Better than _him_...

He could see Shepard looking up at him from Sidonis' side. Her eyes beseeching him to see reason, to not lose himself in his blind hatred like he had since the beginning of this mission, to not become the very thing he once despised more than anything else. A _murderer._

But then he remembered his team.

_Erash, Monteague, Mierin, Grundan Krul, Melenis, Ripper, Sensat, Vortash, Butler, Weaver._

Ten good men dead because of one coward. Ten good men dead because of _him_. . .

He couldn't let Sidonis walk away from this right now no matter what his excuses were. Not after everything that had happened. But Shepard was still standing too close to him for a clean shot.

_I'm sorry, Shepard. I guess I couldn't be like you after all. . .  
_

His decision made, he loaded a single concussive round into his rifle.

* * *

Commander Shepard had never actually intended to place herself between Garrus and his intended target. Not initially anyway. But after seeing how he had dealt with Harkin, she had begun to have serious doubts about allowing Garrus to go along with his plan to kill Sidonis.

She knew, better than anyone else, what exactly he was going through. The hatred, the self-loathing, the what-ifs; she had been there herself, after Akuze. Hell, in many ways Garrus was handling the situation a whole lot better than she had.

She remembered the kind of person she had been before she joined the Normandy SR1:shooting first and asking questions later, if she bothered to ask them at all. She had left a trail of dead bodies in her wake, always using the "Mission comes first" tagline like a pathetic excuse to shield herself from the consequences of her actions.

But all of that had begun to change slowly. At first, she had thought that it was her death that had changed her outlook on life.

But truth be told, she had begun to change as a person long before her death. The catalyst for that change had been a rather unexpected source; specifically, it had been a naïve but good-natured turian ex-cop who she had befriended aboard the SR1.

The very same turian she was so desperately trying to save today.

She didn't give a damn about this Sidonis character (Hell, if she ever ran into him again she'd kill him on principle) and she felt like a heel using Garrus' friendship and affection for her to manipulate him into sparing that bastard's sorry hide. But she could not stand back and watch her friend lose himself like this.

She wanted to believe that the young, idealistic turian she'd befriended was still in there somewhere. And she was going to bring him out, even if he hated her for it.

She was so busy on this line of thought that she barely felt the concussive round slam into her heavily armored shoulder, sending her spinning to the ground.

A loud report later and she watched, open-mouthed in shock, as Lantar Sidonis' body hit the ground, bleeding profusely from a neat bullet hole between the eyes.

* * *

It was an extremely enraged Commander Shepard that boarded the Normandy an hour later.

That bastard had shot her! **Her! **His goddamn commanding officer, his superior, his best friend!

He'd shot her with a concussive round simply because she had been standing in his way, standing in the way of his _revenge!_

_So much for friendship. Fucking cuttlebone bastard!_

She'd been an idiot! She'd been stupid enough to believe that her friendship mattered more to him than his petty revenge.

_Last time I ever stick my neck out for anyone. "Always got your back" my ass!_

"Not now, Joker," she snapped as she stepped out of the decontamination chamber. She turned instead to the place where the glowing AI usually appeared in the cockpit.

"EDI," she bellowed. "Is Vakarian on the ship?"

"Officer Vakarian is currently at his station in the main battery," the AI said as she popped into existence. "Commander, should I. . .?"

"No," Shepard ground out as she stalked to the elevator. "I've got this."

The expression on her face was so murderous that for once even the cheerful Yeoman Chambers skirted away from her path. Shepard effortlessly cut her way across the mess hall, her eyes boring holes into the locked doors of the main battery.

_Hide from me, will you?_

Using her authorization to override the lock on the doors, she stormed into the battery to find the offending turian working on his console.

_As if nothing had happened. . .  
_

The sight of Garrus calmly working on his console as if he didn't have a care in the world, as if hadn't just shot her barely an hour ago sent her over the edge.

As he turned around to face her, she drove her right fist straight into the left side of his face.

The stunning blow caught him completely by surprise and he fell to the floor. Shepard didn't let go however, and proceeded to strike him again and again as he lay on the ground. It was only after she caught a few droplets of blue blood on her gauntlet that she relented and took a step back.

For a moment they just stared at each other as Shepard tried to get her temper under control. As he moved to stand up, she tensed, fully expecting him to retaliate. To her surprise however, he merely looked at her with an inscrutable expression on her face. "Are you done?" he asked.

The casual tone he used once gain brought her anger back in full force as she reached and grabbed him by the front of his ruined armor. "Done? Done? Oh, I'm not even close to being finished with you, you turian bastard!"

She pushed him up against the console. "What the hell were you thinking Vakarian? Huh? You fucking _shot_ me with a concussive round just to get a clean shot at that son-of-a-bitch!?"

"You knew the risk when you chose to stand between me and him, Shepard," he replied, still using that calm and collected tone.

"Are you even _listening_ to yourself?" she asked him in disbelief. "You shot me just because I was in your _way_? Dammit Garrus, I never expected this from _you_ of all people!"

"You were the one who decided to use our friendship to manipulate me into not taking the shot, Shepard," he said, causing her to back up a little. "Either way, it was not _your _call to make."

She wince internally at the truth in his words, but was too far gone in her rage and indignation to care. "It doesn't matter. When we're on the field, you follow _my_ commands. If I order you to walk way, you walk the _fuck_ away!"

"And if I were to refuse?" Garrus said, folding his arms and glaring at her, the picture of defiance.

Shepard's lip curled in contempt. "Then get the _hell off my ship!"_

Garrus' mandibles flared in shock as he stared at her, seemingly unable to believe his ears. "Shepard. . ."

But she was too far gone to care. "If you can't follow my goddamn orders, if you can't trust my judgement, if _I_ can't trust you to watch my back without actually putting a bullet in it, then I don't want you here anymore!"

She spun on her heel and marched towards the elevator, pausing briefly at the doors. "I expect you off this ship in the next 30 minutes. Make sure to take all your stuff with you and document all the work you've done on the main cannon. Send Miranda a copy before you leave."

She walked away.

* * *

Garrus sighed in defeat as he watched Shepard leave the battery.

Truth be told, he had sort of expected this to happen the moment he pulled the trigger on Sidonis. That didn't make it any easier to face it though.

He knew, the moment he had pulled the trigger that he had done more than just killed a traitor; he had destroyed the small amount of faith Shepard had in him, the small amount of trust she had placed in him the moment he had chosen to take the shot.

And Commander Shepard did not trust easily.

No, he had well and truly done it this time. He had ruined the trust they had carefully built up over so many years and so many battles.

His best friend in the galaxy, the single best thing that had ever happened to him, and the one person he respected more than anyone else. . .

Lost to him. Just like his team on Omega. Just like Sidonis. Ruined by his own hands.

His hollow laughter rang in his ears, sounding pathetic even to himself, as he quietly gathered his meager belongings and set about inputting his final commands in the console.

"EDI," he spoke to the AI. "Make sure to run the equations I entered every three days to ensure the guns remain properly calibrated. Refer to my notes in case you need to do some troubleshooting."

"Understood, Officer Vakarian." The AI paused a moment as if unsure and spoke, "Are you. . . really leaving the Normandy?"

Garrus blinked in surprise. Was he imagining it or did the AI seem. . . concerned?

"Yes EDI. You heard the Commander; and its Garrus now." He hesitated, and then continued "Take care of everyone EDI. Watch out for Joker and. . . and for Shepard."

The AI paused for a moment, as if considering his request. "Understood. Take care. . . Garrus."

He merely chuckled sadly. "You too EDI. You too."

* * *

A long, hot shower tends to cool even the hottest of heads. Commander Shepard was no exception.

As she allowed the hot water to wash away the aches and pains of her body, her mind went over the events of the day.

She'd be the first to admit that she had overreacted to the whole situation. The concussive round he'd fired had barely clipped her shoulder plate, causing nothing more than a momentary loss of balance. Hell, it hadn't even left a bruise.

It certainly wasn't reason enough to unload on Garrus the way she had.

She winced as she remembered the way she had struck the poor turian. For all her preaching about the benefits of self-control and restraint, she certainly hadn't shown any when dealing with her closest friend.

She groaned inwardly as she remembered the expression on his face as he had faced her, the pain in his large blue eyes. She had thought he was showing his contempt for her back then.

Only now did she realize that the disgust in his eyes hadn't been directed towards her, it had been directed towards himself.

He was obviously sorry about what he had done. Hell, it was stupid to think otherwise. He was a turian for God's sake! Given their military upbringing, even speaking out against their superiors was considered blasphemy.

For Garrus to have rebelled against her the way he had, it must have torn his very soul into pieces.

As Shepard finished her shower and got dressed, she ruminated on how badly she had treated her turian friend.

Out of all her friends, he had been the only one to unconditionally accept her resurrection at Cerberus' hands. Tali, Anderson, Ashley. . . heck, even Liara; they had all seemed a bit leery of her, even if the latter had never said it outright. But Garrus hadn't. Hell, his first words to her after getting half his face blown off had been about following her into hell "_just like old times_."

No, if Shepard had to be truly honest with herself, the reason she reacted so violently had nothing to do with her shoulder and everything to do with her pride.

She'd expected him to obey her unconditionally, like he always had. She'd expected him to walk away, blindly believing that she knew what was best for him, like he always had.

She had never once thought to look at the situation from his perspective.

_Hubris_, she thought bitterly. She'd have thought getting spaced would've beaten it out of her.

She glanced at her omni-tool. It had been four hours since their confrontation, three since they had left the Citadel. He ought to have cooled own by now.

She made her way down to Deck 3 and strode purposefully to the locked doors of the main battery. She had to settle this between them. There was more at stake than just the mission here. She was _not_ going to lose his friendship over a dead traitor! They were both better than this.

She frowned at the sight of the empty main battery. "EDI," she spoke. "Where's Garrus?"

The AI's blue globe flickered to life before her. "Garrus is no longer on the Normandy, Commander."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked, cold dread settling into the pit of her stomach.

"Per you orders, Garrus Vakarian left the Normandy three hours and thirty-five minutes ago. He disembarked at the Citadel."

* * *

**AN: What d'you think, folks? Should I leave it as a one-shot or continue the story? Please vote. **


	2. That which is lost

He was gone.

Left. Vanished. Walked away from her without a single word of goodbye.

And it was all _her_ fault.

"_You can't predict how people will react. But you __**can**__ control how you'll respond. In the end, that's what really matters."_

She barked a hollow laugh. _Fucking hypocrite._ She was _such_ a fucking hypocrite.

She stole a quick glance at the locked doors of the main battery.

Hmph. Served her right, trying to play fucking therapist.

_Note to self: next time stick to what you do best, like shooting things..._

But there was no time for her to wallow in self-pity. The Collectors were still out there. The mission was too important to put on hold for a single turian, no matter how important he had been to her.

_The show must go on, I guess._

She shook herself mentally. She was Commander-_fucking_-Shepard, and she had a job to do.

* * *

Omega. Oh, how she _hated_ this place.

She hated its filthy streets, she hated its nightclubs, she hated everything Omega stood for….

…she hated it because it reminded her too much of _him_.

She had vowed to herself to never set foot on this god-forsaken hell-hole ever again.

Yet, here she was, trying to help one of her crew members put her demons to rest, literally.

Speaking of which, what the _hell_ was Samara thinking volunteering _her_ for this job?

Hell, retrieving data from dead Cerberus agents and piloting experimental vehicles was something she could do. But seducing an asari sex-vampire, who moonlighted as a serial-killer?

This had _not _been covered by her N7 training manuals.

Still, Samara had asked her this one favor with great hesitation, and Shepard was not one to turn down requests from one of the more reliable and level-headed members of her crew.

Besides, she was in no hurry to go around boarding dead Reapers for their IFFs, not before she was certain her team was fully prepared anyways.

* * *

All in all, things could've gone a lot worse.

She had somehow impressed Morinth enough to get invited over to her apartment, but was stuck trying to buy enough time for Samara to make an intervention.

_What the hell is keeping her so long?_

She tore her eyes away from the hideous sculpture to look at Morinth inviting her to take a seat on the couch.

She hid a grimace. The asari was dangerous. Barely a few minutes into their conversation, and Shepard could already see why Samara had been so paranoid in dealing with her.

Everything about her screamed "serial-killer". She was a seductress of incomparable skill and charm. Poor Nef never stood a chance against her.

Shepard would have been compelled to kill her on sheer principle even if Samara had not personally requested her.

Speaking of which, where the hell _was_ the Justicar?

Something about this whole situation seemed off to Shepard. It all felt wrong right from the moment she met Aria at Afterlife. The asari crime boss seemed positively _smug _as she directed her to Nef's apartment.

Had Samara been set up by Aria's people?

But there was no time to continue that line of thought. Morinth was making her move.

"_Look into my eyes and tell me you want me. Tell me you'd kill for me. Anything I want."_

Shepard felt a foreign presence slowly entering her mind. _Dammit, she's strong!_

"_Like...hell..." _she ground out.

The foreign presence receded immediately. Morinth simply looked at her. "So that's how it is."

Before Shepard could react, she was slammed against the wall with enough force to jolt every bone in her body.

Morinth stalked over to her coolly, body glowing with biotic energy. "I had feeling this was too easy. Did that _bitch_ put you up to it?"

Shepard merely gasped in pain as blood gushed from her head. _Have...to...get up..._

Morinth grabbed her by the neck and lifted her to eye level. "I wanted to take my sweet time with you. But if _she's_ here, I guess I'll have to be quick."

_No..._

She smiled coldly. "Now Shepard, prepare to Embrace Eter..."

A sudden, loud gunshot cut her off and Shepard was showered with blue blood and chunks of gore as Morinth's head exploded.

_Fuck. _Shepard collapsed against the wall in a heap, barely aware of the sudden footsteps moving towards her.

"Shepard? Commander! Stay with me, Shepard!"

The last thing she saw before she lost consciousness was a very familiar pair of blue eyes.

* * *

The first thing she saw when she awoke was the ceiling of the Normandy med-bay, something she was beginning to become rather familiar with of late.

"Ah. Awake at last, Shepard!"

The shadow of a Salarian-shaped head loomed over her, shining a bright pencil-light into her eyes.

"Hmmm. Pupil dilation normal. Seems sufficiently recovered. Must run some more tests to be sure."

"Mordin," she said groggily. "What...?"

"Not to worry, Shepard. Mild concussion. Immediate first-aid on site helped recovery. Here..."

He injected something into the side of her neck. "Vision should recover now. Headache will clear in some time. Prescribe bed-rest for tonight."

Her vision swam for a moment and then cleared up almost immediately. Her eyes came to rest on a tall, red-clad figure standing near her bed.

"Shepard, I am glad you are awake." Samara intoned, relief palpable in her voice. She bowed her regal head for a moment. "I apologize for not being able to come to your aid in time."

"S'okay, Samara," Shepard muttered. "You made it just in time though..."

Samara smiled at her sadly. "I wish I _had_, Shepard. It was not I who saved you from Morinth." She gestured to the figure standing behind her.

It was only then that Shepard noticed another person standing in the far end of the med-bay. Her eyes widened in shock.

_Garrus!_

He stood at attention, regarding her carefully with a neutral expression on his face. But the relief was evident in his tone as he spoke, "Commander. Good to see you awake. How're you feeling?"

Her heart leapt inside her chest. She had so many things she wanted to say to him. In the end however, she settled on, "Fine. What're you doing here?'

_Dammit, I didn't mean "here" as in the Normandy. I meant "here" as in "Omega"._

To his credit, Garrus seemed to understand her meaning. "Aria informed me as soon as you arrived on Omega. Said something about you looking for a killer of some sort."

_Aria!? That bitch..._

Samara, apparently satisfied that Shepard was well, moved to the door. "I shall leave you to your rest, Shepard. Thank you for everything."

She then regarded Garrus for moment before giving him a small bow as well. "I also thank you for your assistance, Garrus Vakarian."

"Oh," he looked surprised. "Umm...sure, I guess."

As they watched her leave, Garrus moved closer to her bedside. "What was that all about?"

"That asari who attacked me, the killer Aria warned you about - that was her daughter."

His mandibles flared in surprised. "Damn. That Ardent Yoshi was her _daughter_?"

"Ardat-Yakshi," Shepard corrected him with a grin.

He smiled at her and they made eye-contact. For a moment it seemed like things were back to normal between them, as if the last two months had never happened.

"Listen Garrus, I..."

She was cut off as Miranda walked into the med-bay. "Shepard, Dr Solus said you were..."

She stopped as she stared in surprised at Garrus standing close to her bed.

"Vakarian! I didn't know you were back."

Garrus cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I was just checking up on the Commander."

"I see," Miranda said, looking from him to Shepard. "Does this mean you'll be resuming your duties on the Normandy?"

"Erm...no," Garrus rubbed his neck in discomfort. "I'm not sure if my current employer would take kindly to me just walking out on her."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at him. Current employer? On Omega?

_Oh, you've gotta be kidding me... _

"You're working for _Aria _now!? Aria T'Loak!?"

She cursed herself as she watched him flinch away from her, as though he'd been physically struck.

"Well...gotta pay the bills somehow," he said, carefully averting his eyes.

_Way to go, girl. First you throw him off your ship, then you make him feel bad about his employment choices._

Shepard felt her face grow hot with shame. Once again she had jumped the gun, passing judgement on him instead of looking at things from his point of view.

As long as she had known him, Garrus had always been passionate about justice. Heck, he'd fought for truth and justice even on a place like _Omega_.

For someone like him to fall so low, working with _Aria_ of all people just to make a living?

It was probably eating him up inside.

It was then that Shepard finally looked at Garrus, _really _looked at him, since the moment she'd regained consciousness.

He looked tired, exhausted. It was obvious from his eyes that he'd been sleeping badly. His posture was hunched, his armor which he usually kept spotlessly clean was patched and dirty. He was also very determinedly trying to look everywhere but at her.

In all the time she had known him, she had never seen Garrus Vakarian look so..._defeated_.

_Dammit Garrus...what did I do to you?_

It was Miranda who finally took pity on the turian and broke the silence. "In that case Mr Vakarian, I must ask you to vacate the ship. We're leaving Omega in fifteen minutes."

Her voice had none of the coldness Shepard was used to hearing. She almost sounded...kind.

_Great, Shepard. Even the Ice-Queen's treating him better than you have. Some __**friend**__ you're supposed to be._

"Of course," Garrus cleared his throat. He looked at Shepard with an unreadable expression on his face. "Take care of yourself, Commander."

In that instant, there were a hundred things she wanted to say. She wanted to apologize, she wanted to beg him to return to the Normandy, she wanted to tell him how much she missed having him at her back, she wanted to tell him to tell Aria to go fuck herself, she wanted to tell him how much he meant to her…

But instead all that came out of her mouth was a terse, "You too, Garrus."

She watched him nod at her and Miranda, and walk out of the med-bay...walk out of her life.

She was Commander-_fucking_-Shepard, and she had just lost her best friend.

* * *

**AN: There you go, people. Let's see those reviews.  
**

**For those of you wondering why Garrus is working with _Aria _of all people, stay tuned for the next chapter. **


	3. That which is grey

He allows himself to be escorted into Afterlife by her guards. His bag and weapons are roughly snatched away from him as he is thrust before her. She continues to watch over the dance floor, seemingly disregarding his presence.

He sighs inwardly. She always did have a flair for dramatics.

"So, what brings the great Archangel to my domain?"

"I'm not here to cause trouble, Aria."

She barks a short laugh. "Glad to hear that. The last time you were here, you caused enough trouble to last an asari lifetime."

She turns towards him, eyes narrowed. "Now, why _are_ you here?"

He looks her in the eye. "I came to check up on a few old friends."

"Don't bullshit me _turian_, we both know that any friends you had on Omega are long since dead. The few acquaintances who remain don't want to have anything to do with you."

She takes a menacing step forward. "I'll ask you one more time, Archangel, _why_ are you here?"

He's silent, staring at her defiantly. She holds his gaze for a few moments.

"You don't know, do you?" she whispers. "You don't know _why_ you're here."

She paces around him, like a predator toying with her prey.

"You're at a crossroads. You don't know where to go or what to do with your life anymore; you don't know who or what to believe in anymore. So, you hedged your bets and took off into the unknown, and the next thing you knew your unsteady footsteps brought you," she pauses dramatically, spreading her arms wide, "_here_."

She turns her back to him, silent once again.

"You know, this place has a lot of different names. To the asari it is "the heart of evil", to the salarians it's "the place of secrets", the turians call it "the world without law", and the krogan think of it as "the land of opportunity"."

"Me. I've always preferred the name the humans gave it – Omega, the end of all of things. For that is truly what Omega is, at its very core."

She turns to regard him again. "Omega is where _dreams_ come to die."

She paces again.

"You looked for a friendship which would give you redemption, you looked for a love which would become your salvation, you searched for justice in a galaxy that had _none_ to offer..."

She leans in close, baring her teeth in a predatory smile.

"You tried to take on the entire galaxy for the sake of your beliefs, and the galaxy chewed you up and spat you out like the insignificant little thing you are."

She traces a long finger along his ruined mandible.

"Do you know how much the Blue Suns offered those freelancers to take on you back then?"

She leans in close to whisper in his ear, "Five hundred credits."

"For a measly five hundred credits apiece, the very people you fought to save lined up in droves to put a bullet in your head. Tell me, what do you think of that, _Archangel_? Still feel like fighting for the weak and helpless?"

She leans back with a satisfied smirk on her face. He can't help but growl at her in impotent rage. "Just kill me already; or are you trying to lecture me to death over here?"

A sharp slap rings across his face, his ruined mandible searing with pain. He snarls at her.

"Still have some fight left in you, I see." She walks back to her couch and spreads herself across it. "Good, you'll need it if you want to survive this place."

She lights a cigarette and takes a slow drag, looking at him thoughtfully.

"I'm not going to kill you, Archangel. What I _am_ going to do is teach you a lesson."

She chuckles as she watches his mandibles flare in agitation. "Oh, not _that_ kind of lesson, you silly turian. No, I want to teach you something about the galaxy we live in. Who knows, you might even come to appreciate it one day."

"I want you to work for me as one of my enforcers. You skills with a rifle is something my people sorely lack. In return, you'll have all money you want, all the booze you can drink but most important of all, you will have _my_ protection from any suicidal mercs still holding petty grudges."

He looks at her cautiously, looking for signs of deceit on her face. He finds none. "If I were to refuse?"

"Then I'll let you go. But you're not allowed to set foot on Omega ever again." She smirks at him. "But somehow, I don't think you will."

"Come _on_, Archangel. You wanted to bring law and order to this place once upon a time, didn't you? Let me show you how it's _really_ done."

* * *

He lies on the small bed in the apartment which Aria has so _generously _provided.

_His _apartment, now.

Archangel, savior of the downtrodden, a hero of justice. Now working for the Queen of Omega...

It's almost funny, in a rather morbid sort of way.

He idly wonders what her game is. Aria T'Loak is a strategist to the core, always thinking several moves ahead. For all he knows, she's leading him headfirst into a trap of some sort.

Or maybe she just enjoys the irony of having _Archangel_ of all people under her thumb.

He finds he doesn't actually give a damn.

He absently traces a talon over his visor, over the names of his dead comrades.

_This_, all of it, is an insult to their memory.

Part of him wants to tell Aria to take her offer and shove it.

Another part tells him to shut his mouth and take what he can get.

He has sacrificed enough in the name of his team: Sidonis' life, Shepard's friendship...

It's time to stop sacrificing. It's time to move on.

* * *

Working with Aria is...educational.

As an enforcer, he is sent to deal with people who Aria feels are being unreasonable, or simply need to be reminded of Omega's one rule.

Either way, he is free to deal with the situation as he see fits. As long as he gets results.

He finds, to his own surprise, that he doesn't always go straight for his gun.

Turns out some of Shepard's silver tongue has rubbed off on him. Or maybe having one side of your face mangled is simply beneficial in this business.

Either way, he doesn't complain.

After all, why waste bullets when words can solve the problem just as well?

* * *

There is no black and white on Omega.

There is only grey.

A dull grey, no doubt, almost black from Omega's grime and dust.

But grey nonetheless.

He sighs. It's so much easier to see things in black and white.

Grey. He doesn't know what to do with grey.

* * *

His conversation with Solana has him on edge.

His mother is dying. She needs better treatment.

Treatment which he cannot afford.

Money is not the issue. Aria pays him very well for his services. It's definitely better than freelancing for pro-human terrorist groups.

No, she needs specialized treatment. Something which requires a certain level of _influence_.

He wishes Mordin Solus were still here on Omega. The kind-hearted doctor would've no doubt pulled a few strings for him.

He grits his teeth. He doesn't want to be indebted to Aria any more than he already is.

But this isn't about his damn pride, this is about his mother's life.

If he has to grovel before her, he will.

He takes a deep breath and walks up to her. "Aria, I have a favor to ask..."

* * *

When Aria tells him Shepard is on Omega, he doesn't believe her at first.

But then he sees the Normandy, and his gut twists.

Has she come looking for him?

_Get a grip, Garrus. _He chides himself. _The galaxy doesn't revolve around you._

Shepard has always been extremely practical, it was part of the reason he admired her so much. For her, the mission always came first, regardless of the cost.

For him to assume that she would be willing to put the mission on hold to search for a coward like him, was the very height of hubris.

* * *

He tears through the streets of Omega like a madman.

_Shepard's in danger._

Aria's message had not really been very clear. Something about an Ardent Yoshi, whatever the hell that was. But there were two words that stood out: "unarmed" and "killer".

Shepard was alone with a killer in her apartment, _unarmed_.

_Spirits, that woman..._

* * *

He watches the Normandy SR2 leave the docking bay.

Shepard is safe. _Thank the Spirits..._

She also seems to be doing quite well for herself.

_Of course she's doing well. _He scoffs. Did he really think losing a single crew-member was going to affect her in any way?

She was Commander-_fucking-_Shepard_. _She was the perfect soldier. No way was she going to worry over losing a subordinate.

She had moved on.

"Hey Archangel," Grizz, Aria's bodyguard, calls him on the comm. "Boss wants to see you, on the double."

He turns around and walks back to Afterlife.

It was time to stop living in the past.

She had moved on; it was time for him to do the same.

* * *

**AN: I've experimented with a new writing style this time. Lemme know what you folks think.  
**

**I've always felt Aria's character had a lot more potential than what was shown in the games. **


End file.
